The Elements

Chapter 17 - The Bond

It felt just like going blind. There seemed to be no boundaries whatsoever around me, but whenever I stretched out my arm, it hit solid wall, making me recoil in pain. I groped around for support along the wall, just as Xavier shouted, "Just a little longer!" I honestly didn't know how he could manage this - then again, I didn't really know whether he was managing it well, or just fumbling around like me.

Just then, I bumped into someone in front, and I nearly fell with the impact of our collision. "Oof..." I muttered, cursing my clumsiness. Just then, somebody grabbed my arm and pulled me up. "Aura? Is that you?"

"Uh, no, obviously not. It's me, Xavier," came the reply.

"But... How did you know I fell?"

"Simple. I just turned around and saw you on the ground."

I resisted the urge to slap my forehead. "I mean, how did you see me on the ground? It's all pitch-black here!"

"Yeah, how? And why aren't you telling us how to do it? We're all falling down!" Aura's voice joined the conversation.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down. I hate being harassed by girls - especially girls like you."

"Excuse me?" Aura and I screamed at the same time.

"Gosh, calm down. I'm just wearing X-ray glasses... I made them a while ago but it takes very long to make, so I didn't make one for each of you."

"Then couldn't you have just brought us along with you? Or told us the directions, at least. Why did you just run off in front yourself? I, like, fell down eight times and now my knees are all scraped and my hands are bleeding and whenever I try to make wind, it hurts so bad!" An Aura-tantrum was brewing - though I found it weird that Aura had fallen down more times than me.

"Oof, sorry... Anyway, we're almost there already. I'm sure I can find a plaster or something for you."

"In a monster's lair?" Aura and I shouted simultaneously in incredulity.

"You'll see soon." I imagined Xavier giving us his trademark mysterious grin, and a smile of my own curled at my lips. His words could only mean one thing - we were right. There was no monster.

"Fine... But how much longer?" Aura complained. I could hear the pain laced through her voice.

"Just a bit," Xavier replied, grabbing our hands (Aura sucked in a shallow breath) and bringing us forward. A while after, he announced, "Almost there! Close your eyes for a while..." I wondered what the purpose of closing my eyes was, since I couldn't see anything - but I squeezed my eyes shut anyway. I was trying desperately to follow Xavier's pull at my hands, but I was failing quite badly - especially since he was twisting and turning too much. Suddenly, he stopped and I heard the opening of a door - before we took off again, flying through wherever we were. Even with my eyes closed, though, I knew that we had exited the tunnel - muted chatter rang in the background as the wind whipped hair into my face.

Soon, we stopped again and I struggled to keep balance - my feet were too accustomed to the running - but luckily Xavier's strong grip supported me and I didn't fall. "Whoaaaaaa..." Olivia breathed, and I realised that she, unlike us, could see everything.

Her words perked my curiosity, and I immediately asked, "Can we open our eyes now?"

"Yep!" Xavier's voice was tinted with pride - and I soon realised why. When the world came into focus, colours overwhelmed me. As I looked closer, I saw the room in front of me split into two segments.

The left section seemed to be made of pure gold, sporting trophies, certificates and medals, including "BEST GADGET AWARD", "BEST INNOVATION AWARD", and "HACKATHON CHAMPION". His award collection was complete with red ribbons tied around each trophy, and each prize had its very own glass case, polished to a shine. It was truly intimidating, given that the only award I had ever won was a "Music Commendation Award". The right section was more of a collection shelf, showcasing all sorts of model cars, trucks, airplanes, and even spacecrafts. Between each model were wrenches, screwdrivers, hammers, drills, nail guns, amongst other tools.